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Ava Gardner: "Love Is Nothing"
"The most complete and engrossing biography yet of this exotic Southern girl...Excellent."―Liz Smith
She was the sex symbol who dazzled all the other sex symbols. She was the temptress who drove Frank Sinatra to the brink of suicide and haunted him to the end of his life. Ernest Hemingway saved one of her kidney stones as a sacred memento, and Howard Hughes begged her to marry him―but she knocked out his front teeth instead.
She was one of the great icons in Hollywood history―star of The Killers , The Barefoot Contessa , and The Night of the Iguana ―and one of the few whose actual life was grander and more colorful than any movie. Her jaw-dropping beauty, charismatic presence, and fabulous, scandalous adventures fueled the legend of Ava Gardner―Hollywood's most glamorous, restless and uninhibited star.
"A seductive book."― The New York Times
"Deliciously entertaining."― Publishers Weekly
"Irresistible and finally heartbreaking."― The Newark Star-Ledger
"Super."― USA Today
In this acclaimed first full biography of Gardner, Lee Server recreates―with great style and vivid detail―the actress's life, from her beginnings as a barefoot North Carolina farm girl to her heady days as a Hollywood goddess. He paints the full spectacle of her tumultuous private life―including her string of failed marriages to Mickey Rooney, Sinatra and Artie Shaw―and Gardner's lifelong search for adventure and love.
Ava Gardner : "Love is Nothing" is both an exceptional work of biography and a richly entertaining read.
She was the sex symbol who dazzled all the other sex symbols. She was the temptress who drove Frank Sinatra to the brink of suicide and haunted him to the end of his life. Ernest Hemingway saved one of her kidney stones as a sacred memento, and Howard Hughes begged her to marry him―but she knocked out his front teeth instead.
She was one of the great icons in Hollywood history―star of The Killers , The Barefoot Contessa , and The Night of the Iguana ―and one of the few whose actual life was grander and more colorful than any movie. Her jaw-dropping beauty, charismatic presence, and fabulous, scandalous adventures fueled the legend of Ava Gardner―Hollywood's most glamorous, restless and uninhibited star.
"A seductive book."― The New York Times
"Deliciously entertaining."― Publishers Weekly
"Irresistible and finally heartbreaking."― The Newark Star-Ledger
"Super."― USA Today
In this acclaimed first full biography of Gardner, Lee Server recreates―with great style and vivid detail―the actress's life, from her beginnings as a barefoot North Carolina farm girl to her heady days as a Hollywood goddess. He paints the full spectacle of her tumultuous private life―including her string of failed marriages to Mickey Rooney, Sinatra and Artie Shaw―and Gardner's lifelong search for adventure and love.
Ava Gardner : "Love is Nothing" is both an exceptional work of biography and a richly entertaining read.
560 pages, Paperback
First published April 3, 2006
224 people are currently reading
2197 people want to read
About the author
Lee Server
36 books18 followersLee Server specialises in books on popular culture and literary history.
He is the critically acclaimed author of such as 'Danger Is My Business: The Illustrated History of the Fabulous Pulp Magazines' (1993), 'Over My Dead Body: The Sensational Age of the American Paperback' (1995) and the biography 'Robert Mitchum: Baby, I Don't Care' (2001).
He is the critically acclaimed author of such as 'Danger Is My Business: The Illustrated History of the Fabulous Pulp Magazines' (1993), 'Over My Dead Body: The Sensational Age of the American Paperback' (1995) and the biography 'Robert Mitchum: Baby, I Don't Care' (2001).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 145 reviews
September 8, 2013
I found this book very interesting but mainly wrote this as a rebuttal to the review of Tara, who said that she was "average," a "crybaby," and "never had to work for anything." All of these descriptions are patently untrue.
"Average?" A look at any picture of her belies this shallow and in my opinion jealous assessment. I'm especially talking about her glorious beauty in her younger years when she had the longer hair---around the times of her marriages to Mickey Rooney and Artie Shaw and the movies Whistle Stop and The Killers.
"Crybaby." I fail to see how she was ever a whiner or crybaby about anything. That isn't her personality as shown in this book and others, like her autobiography. This was a woman who took even a stroke that inhibited the use of her arm with aplomb, referring to the affected arm as a "(expletive") that she had to carry around. Crybaby? No.
Last, I don't understand how one can claim that she never had to work for anything. She was born into a lower-middle-class family in North Carolina, always felt that she wasn't truly educated, and rose from her background to the pinnacle of Hollywood success, even getting an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress for Mogambo. She certainly worked hard on her films.
I read this book many years ago, it's on my bookshelf with many other much-loved biographies of movie queens from the Golden Age of Hollywood, and I found the review from Tara so egregious that this is my response.
"Average?" A look at any picture of her belies this shallow and in my opinion jealous assessment. I'm especially talking about her glorious beauty in her younger years when she had the longer hair---around the times of her marriages to Mickey Rooney and Artie Shaw and the movies Whistle Stop and The Killers.
"Crybaby." I fail to see how she was ever a whiner or crybaby about anything. That isn't her personality as shown in this book and others, like her autobiography. This was a woman who took even a stroke that inhibited the use of her arm with aplomb, referring to the affected arm as a "(expletive") that she had to carry around. Crybaby? No.
Last, I don't understand how one can claim that she never had to work for anything. She was born into a lower-middle-class family in North Carolina, always felt that she wasn't truly educated, and rose from her background to the pinnacle of Hollywood success, even getting an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress for Mogambo. She certainly worked hard on her films.
I read this book many years ago, it's on my bookshelf with many other much-loved biographies of movie queens from the Golden Age of Hollywood, and I found the review from Tara so egregious that this is my response.
December 26, 2021
I bought this library book in the discard bin for a dime and I want my dime back !! The style of writing is like People magazine(the bane of my existence) and while I did come to appreciate Ava's acting ability, she did make love to more men than McDonalds has sold hamburgers. Also she forgot that she was laid by President Kennedy until her biographer reminded her so another blow to the crumbling idea of Camelot.
May 19, 2024
Catching up…
This was donated to my Little Free Library Shed several weeks ago. I was looking forward to re-visiting it so that I could provide a review for Goodreads.
I am a great fan of film noir. And she definitely was one of the actresses I use to love watching whenever the old movies would come on when we use to have cable television.
I thought I liked it when I first read this book as part of my celebrity biography reading stage period of my life years ago.
Recently the New York Times posted an article featuring the most notable books from the year 2000-2023. And, this book was listed for the year 2006. So, I can only presume that this book must have made an impression on their writers, too.
But notable doesn’t necessarily mean great, does it? Just worthy of notice.
As I began to re-visit this book, I noticed that the author’s research felt a bit chaotic. It appeared more focused on her life in tabloids. Whatever was printed in the newspapers, or magazines seemed to be how this author chose to tell his story of Ava Gardner.
And of course, whatever could be said about her had a lot to do with what we could all see on screen or in writing – her voluptuous beauty, the men, the marriages, the movies. How the newspapers and magazines chose to interpret her. From film set to film set. Or from marriage to marriage.
And then there was her drinking. Her unreliability because of it. From famous to infamous to notorious. In this book, 500 pages later we see her at the end of life at 67.
But those of us who admired her acting, or her stage presence, where we really wanted to be was with her as we saw her on the cover page of this book. To be honest, that is how we really wanted to remember her. Gorgeous. Stunning. Immensely talented.
Was the read worth it – especially a second time?
If you love Ava Gardner, maybe. Or, just go watch one of her old movies, and live in the nostalgia of her. It might be a better, happier experience.
This was donated to my Little Free Library Shed several weeks ago. I was looking forward to re-visiting it so that I could provide a review for Goodreads.
I am a great fan of film noir. And she definitely was one of the actresses I use to love watching whenever the old movies would come on when we use to have cable television.
I thought I liked it when I first read this book as part of my celebrity biography reading stage period of my life years ago.
Recently the New York Times posted an article featuring the most notable books from the year 2000-2023. And, this book was listed for the year 2006. So, I can only presume that this book must have made an impression on their writers, too.
But notable doesn’t necessarily mean great, does it? Just worthy of notice.
As I began to re-visit this book, I noticed that the author’s research felt a bit chaotic. It appeared more focused on her life in tabloids. Whatever was printed in the newspapers, or magazines seemed to be how this author chose to tell his story of Ava Gardner.
And of course, whatever could be said about her had a lot to do with what we could all see on screen or in writing – her voluptuous beauty, the men, the marriages, the movies. How the newspapers and magazines chose to interpret her. From film set to film set. Or from marriage to marriage.
And then there was her drinking. Her unreliability because of it. From famous to infamous to notorious. In this book, 500 pages later we see her at the end of life at 67.
But those of us who admired her acting, or her stage presence, where we really wanted to be was with her as we saw her on the cover page of this book. To be honest, that is how we really wanted to remember her. Gorgeous. Stunning. Immensely talented.
Was the read worth it – especially a second time?
If you love Ava Gardner, maybe. Or, just go watch one of her old movies, and live in the nostalgia of her. It might be a better, happier experience.
June 25, 2007
I guess I'm giving Ava Gardner 3 stars, not the book. She was a drunk, plain and simple, and it ruined her life. Well, Mickey Rooney, Artie Shaw, and Frank Sinatra helped ruin it too, I suppose. Mickey Rooney cheated on her, Artie Shaw was a condescending sadist bastard, and Frank, well, he was Frank. I would hand this to the typical teenage girl and say, "Look kid. Here's proof that being beautiful won't do squat to insure a beautiful life."
March 11, 2015
Upon Ava Gardner's death, Artie Shaw (her second husband) was quoted as saying that Ava Gardner's death was her fault "she did it herself with all the drinking, smoking and carrying on". Well first off what an A-HOLE for making that kind of public statement about a woman he was married to, shows his true colors! I'm in the camp that people can't be completely blamed for their addictions. Yes Ava Gardner was an alcoholic who overdid it in the partying department which caused her to age quite quickly (yes people when you drink too much you age QUICK) but that statement from Shaw is just too harsh.
I really enjoyed Server's biography. He does a good job of covering Ava's entire life without overdoing it with vast detail. She was an interesting person. She didn't ever seem to care for acting although it paid the bills and she was pretty good with her money. She was shy and self conscious (which seems ridiculous) so when she came to Hollywood she started drinking, and never really stopped. All of her marriages were failures, including Frank Sinatra, although many times it is apparent that he was the love of her life. The two of them were almost too alike, both too jealous, too insecure to handle being with the other. Of course the alcohol they both consumed did not help. It's very sad to me that two people who truly love each other couldn't get past their "issues" to make it work. Their relationship is proof that sometimes no matter how much you love someone, love is not enough.
Despite only being married three times, Ava definitely got around besides. She just lived a wild and fast life. Her most famous affair, after Sinatra, was the bullfighter Luis Miguel Dominguin. It was with him she got involved with bullfighting and famously hurt her face. I believe this is when she felt her beauty took a turn for the worse and Ava became so self conscious she'd freak out if pictures were taken of her.
But man I wish I could have seen this woman in her prime - many many times she is referred to as the most beautiful woman you'd ever see. I don't even think the photographs included in this book do her justice.
I think Ava sold herself short and the few movies I've seen of her she is fantastic. I wish she could have taken herself and her talent more seriously rather than just basking in the attention she got because of her beauty. Server definitely did a great job in showing us that Ava had her flaws but she was a good person even if she didn't believe it.
I really enjoyed Server's biography. He does a good job of covering Ava's entire life without overdoing it with vast detail. She was an interesting person. She didn't ever seem to care for acting although it paid the bills and she was pretty good with her money. She was shy and self conscious (which seems ridiculous) so when she came to Hollywood she started drinking, and never really stopped. All of her marriages were failures, including Frank Sinatra, although many times it is apparent that he was the love of her life. The two of them were almost too alike, both too jealous, too insecure to handle being with the other. Of course the alcohol they both consumed did not help. It's very sad to me that two people who truly love each other couldn't get past their "issues" to make it work. Their relationship is proof that sometimes no matter how much you love someone, love is not enough.
Despite only being married three times, Ava definitely got around besides. She just lived a wild and fast life. Her most famous affair, after Sinatra, was the bullfighter Luis Miguel Dominguin. It was with him she got involved with bullfighting and famously hurt her face. I believe this is when she felt her beauty took a turn for the worse and Ava became so self conscious she'd freak out if pictures were taken of her.
But man I wish I could have seen this woman in her prime - many many times she is referred to as the most beautiful woman you'd ever see. I don't even think the photographs included in this book do her justice.
I think Ava sold herself short and the few movies I've seen of her she is fantastic. I wish she could have taken herself and her talent more seriously rather than just basking in the attention she got because of her beauty. Server definitely did a great job in showing us that Ava had her flaws but she was a good person even if she didn't believe it.
December 22, 2008
I loved reading this book!! I looked forward to it every day.
Born on Christmas Eve, 1922, Ava Gardner was considered an unparalleled beauty and it was that beauty that brought her fame and recognition. She married for love – three times – first Mickey Rooney, then Artie Shaw, and then the love of her life, Frank Sinatra. She starred in movies opposite Clark Gable, Burt Lancaster, and Charlton Heston. But she remained shy in front of the camera to the very end. What I liked most about her personality was her defiant rebelliousness, her passion for life, and her generosity of spirit. Almost everyone she ever met had something nice to say about her. She never looked down her nose at anyone. My impression from reading this biography was that she would have enjoyed being in a stable marriage with children to raise and have with her as she aged (it was not to be), and that her true potential as an actress was never exploited. So, although she led an incredibly rich and interesting life, I felt a bit sad for her.
My favorite quote in the entire book is this: “In the night she could behave very badly. But if you waited, if you remained faithful, the Ava you loved would return; … she would come back from this angry place, back to being the sweetest woman again and saying the most tender things in the world.”
She died at the age of 68 years and one month, on January 25, 1990.
Born on Christmas Eve, 1922, Ava Gardner was considered an unparalleled beauty and it was that beauty that brought her fame and recognition. She married for love – three times – first Mickey Rooney, then Artie Shaw, and then the love of her life, Frank Sinatra. She starred in movies opposite Clark Gable, Burt Lancaster, and Charlton Heston. But she remained shy in front of the camera to the very end. What I liked most about her personality was her defiant rebelliousness, her passion for life, and her generosity of spirit. Almost everyone she ever met had something nice to say about her. She never looked down her nose at anyone. My impression from reading this biography was that she would have enjoyed being in a stable marriage with children to raise and have with her as she aged (it was not to be), and that her true potential as an actress was never exploited. So, although she led an incredibly rich and interesting life, I felt a bit sad for her.
My favorite quote in the entire book is this: “In the night she could behave very badly. But if you waited, if you remained faithful, the Ava you loved would return; … she would come back from this angry place, back to being the sweetest woman again and saying the most tender things in the world.”
She died at the age of 68 years and one month, on January 25, 1990.
May 30, 2015
I'd better clarify: The writing deserves a high rating, but if you're going to read this book, I'd really recommend a physical copy rather than the Kindle version, which is what I opted for.
I'm not familiar with publishers' methods of transferring printed text to digital text but have noticed most kindle books I've read are completely riddled with typos and grammatical errors that aren't always in the printed book versions. What's up with that?
I'm not familiar with publishers' methods of transferring printed text to digital text but have noticed most kindle books I've read are completely riddled with typos and grammatical errors that aren't always in the printed book versions. What's up with that?
August 13, 2021
Old Hollywood is so fucking interesting
March 15, 2013
This book made me terribly sad. For all of Ava Gardner's beauty, she could not find happiness. Chronically insecure, shy, lonely, she became dependent on alcohol and everything spiralled from there. Worn down and cheated on by her first husband (a truly slimy portrait of Mickey Rooney), disparaged by her second (a loathsome Artie Shaw), and too volatile a mix with her third (Frank Sinatra, who probably loved her very much, but doesn't cut a very sympathetic figure here) she never found the love she wanted. It's the story of a talented beauty who led a wild, raucous, bumpy life. I realise this book was written from a very biased perspective (the author adored her), but I think this biography showcases just how much we don't know about someone else's life experience. She may have been a star of (arguably) unequalled beauty, but Ava Gardner was honestly just a human being trying to navigate a treacherous world. I may not agree with her choices, but by the end of this book I loved Ava Gardner.
April 27, 2023
I read Lee Server's book about Robert Mitchum years ago, and this is better. That book became repetitive in that it was Bob makes movies he doesn't really care about, but it pays, and repeat.
Mitchum though does make a couple of cameos here, once as a co-star, and once when he hides from Ava in her wild phase as she's just too much for him.
The everyday story of a North Carolna beauty who marries Mickey Rooney, Artie Shaw (someone I have to find out more about) and Frank Sinatra, becomes a major film star and part of the international jet set, before retiring to the quiet life in London.
It's a very sympathetic portrait. Even when she's at her worst - which in the middle of this narrative is frequently - you still root for her.
Mitchum though does make a couple of cameos here, once as a co-star, and once when he hides from Ava in her wild phase as she's just too much for him.
The everyday story of a North Carolna beauty who marries Mickey Rooney, Artie Shaw (someone I have to find out more about) and Frank Sinatra, becomes a major film star and part of the international jet set, before retiring to the quiet life in London.
It's a very sympathetic portrait. Even when she's at her worst - which in the middle of this narrative is frequently - you still root for her.
April 30, 2010
I'm not really one for biographies, but this one caught my eye in the library a few years ago and continues to linger with me. It's written as more of a narrative so you really feel like you're watching Ava Gardner's life on screen in front of you. And what a fascinating life--tumultuous affairs, broken teeth (Howard Hughes's), sex, Sinatra, bull-fighting, Hemingway, and Hollywood, all coated with booze and curse words (the lady had a fouler mouth than me, unbelievably). The research the author conducted, and the level of details he included, are astounding. And the writing blew me away. Read it.
August 14, 2007
Biography's ok, but what a depressing life. What is it with this beautiful successful women who marry men who hate women?
December 20, 2022
I read this at what turned out to be the perfect time: the holiday season of 2022, right around what would have been Ava Gardner’s 100th birthday. Midway through this biography, I changed my cat’s name to Ava, because I love my beautiful, tyrannical, sweet, luxuriating cat, but I’m also a little afraid of her. By the end of this biography, I learned that Ava named the last corgi she owned Morgan. Which is all to say that it feels very fateful, my having chosen this book. This is a new favorite genre of mine — I love the drama! The name-dropping! The unrelenting march through time! — but even within this genre I think “Love Is Nothing” is a delicious, intimate, gorgeously-written standout. I’m now a fan of Ava Gardner and am working my way through her filmography.
August 9, 2020
Phew...that was a rather agonizing ride. In contrast with Peter Evans' "Secret Conversations," Lee Server crafts a bleak portrait of a woman whose life is a tragedy. The lack of Ava's own voice in "Love is Nothing" causes her to come off as less likable, even insufferable at times. Her life story is definitely an extremely dramatic one, and I feel like I know everything there is to know about Ava after reading these two books plus material on the internet. And while I would brand myself a fan of the actress simply for her personality, "Love is Nothing" was a tiring, depressing read. It's an exercise in the repetitive--Ava parties all night, sleeps with married men, laments over Sinatra, drinks herself into a rage, causes trouble on a film set, fights with literally everyone. Although the tone of Artie Shaw's take on Ava's passing (that she "did it to herself") is insensitive and cruel, I do think Artie presents quite the question--did Ava "write" her own tragedy by living a hedonistic lifestyle or was she simply cursed with a beauty that prevented her from ever truly being loved in the way that she deserved? Ultimately, Ava Gardner is the most morally gray character I have ever encountered.
On a technical level, Server's biography is meticulously researched. Yet, it does lack that Ava spunk that Evans captures so perfectly with his book. I would say I learned more while reading Server's 500-page whopper, and the writing was decent enough, but that I felt less warm toward Ava. If you're looking for an honest depiction of her "magic and beauty" as Mickey Rooney referred to it as following her death, I would recommend Evans' hybrid of a biography/autobiography.
On a technical level, Server's biography is meticulously researched. Yet, it does lack that Ava spunk that Evans captures so perfectly with his book. I would say I learned more while reading Server's 500-page whopper, and the writing was decent enough, but that I felt less warm toward Ava. If you're looking for an honest depiction of her "magic and beauty" as Mickey Rooney referred to it as following her death, I would recommend Evans' hybrid of a biography/autobiography.
June 24, 2016
I was planning to write that "Ava Gardner" by Lee Server was not bad for a Hollywood biography but realized that I had no basis for comparison since the only other movie star biography I have read was "Montgomery Clift: A Biography". That was at least 30 years ago.
It is worthwhile for a 30 page discussion of "The Killers" a classic film noir work, one of the first of the genre and one of the best. It was difficult to get Ernest Hemingway even discuss selling the rights to his short story followed by negotiations to set a price for the 12 page story--the final price was $36,750 although Hemingway wanted it announced as $50,000. There is an interesting if not original discussion of how director Robert Siodmak approached things (he didn't like to give line readings, character analysis or motivation for actors but was more a "hit the mark and say your lines" director, more interested in staging, camera placement, lighting--he claimed to know how he wanted every frame to look and the and the pace, movement and gesture of each frame. It was a huge hit, broke box office records when it opened and made stars of Gardner and Burt Lancaster although I don't think it was as influential as Server claims on film noir movies that followed it.
It is worthwhile for a 30 page discussion of "The Killers" a classic film noir work, one of the first of the genre and one of the best. It was difficult to get Ernest Hemingway even discuss selling the rights to his short story followed by negotiations to set a price for the 12 page story--the final price was $36,750 although Hemingway wanted it announced as $50,000. There is an interesting if not original discussion of how director Robert Siodmak approached things (he didn't like to give line readings, character analysis or motivation for actors but was more a "hit the mark and say your lines" director, more interested in staging, camera placement, lighting--he claimed to know how he wanted every frame to look and the and the pace, movement and gesture of each frame. It was a huge hit, broke box office records when it opened and made stars of Gardner and Burt Lancaster although I don't think it was as influential as Server claims on film noir movies that followed it.
November 3, 2020
Ava Gardner was the great iconic beauty of her day. She was married three times, all to famous men. Her husbands were actor Mickey Rooney and bandleader Artie Shaw. Her most famous and violent relationship was with Frank Sinatra. She lured him away from his wife, almost destroying his career in the process, married him, divorced him, and never got over him. Friends say he never got over her either. It was a life-long relationship between two people who loved each other but couldn't be together. When asked why she stayed with the 119-pound Sinatra, Gardner once replied “Well, I’ll tell you—nineteen pounds is cock.” She had multiple affairs, including John F. Kennedy.
There were lots of testimonies to her beauty, which was her defining character. Like many actresses of that time period, she had no confidence in her talent. She was a free spirit, with a roving eye, a reckless streak and an insatiable appetite for alcohol and men. There were so many fantastic stories and every famous celebrity of the day is mentioned. It was everything I look for when I want to read a celebrity biography.
The author did a great job in showing us that Ava Gardner had her flaws. She was a good person even if she didn't believe it. I thought it was just riveting.
There were lots of testimonies to her beauty, which was her defining character. Like many actresses of that time period, she had no confidence in her talent. She was a free spirit, with a roving eye, a reckless streak and an insatiable appetite for alcohol and men. There were so many fantastic stories and every famous celebrity of the day is mentioned. It was everything I look for when I want to read a celebrity biography.
The author did a great job in showing us that Ava Gardner had her flaws. She was a good person even if she didn't believe it. I thought it was just riveting.
August 29, 2013
Interested me more in Artie Shaws's music than in going back to any of Ava Gardner's films, but worth it for her off-screen story, and tales of the film world. On The Killers: "Siodmak always knew what he wanted and worked very quickly. There was no rehearsal before the actual shooting began. Siodmak's interest was in staging and camera placement. He did not discuss motivation with the actors or give line readings." On The Naked Maja: "Filming was in the Italian style, without direct sound recording (dialogue to be postsynchronized). Many of the other actors she performed with either spoke no English or had accents too thick to be understood. Sometimes the other actors did not speak their lines on camera but simply mouthed gibberish or counted numbers; you didn't so much interact with the other players as watch and wait for their lips to stop moving.
September 9, 2023
I think biographies are a bit tricky to review because it's only partly about how they're written, and largely about the subject which the author can't (or shouldn't) change.
I have to admit I knew the name Ava Gardner before i picked up this book but that was about it. She really had a fascinating life and Lee Server does a brilliant job of telling it in an engaging and empathetic way.
I feel like maybe there are some embellishments in the way that motives and feelings are assumed in some parts, but there has clearly also been a great effort made to seek information from all possible sources.
There are many colourful and amusing quotes and anecdotes but it's also very moving; despite our notable differences I feel a certain kinship and empathy with Ava after reading this, and even welled up at the last paragraph (I DON'T as a rule cry at books!).
I have to admit I knew the name Ava Gardner before i picked up this book but that was about it. She really had a fascinating life and Lee Server does a brilliant job of telling it in an engaging and empathetic way.
I feel like maybe there are some embellishments in the way that motives and feelings are assumed in some parts, but there has clearly also been a great effort made to seek information from all possible sources.
There are many colourful and amusing quotes and anecdotes but it's also very moving; despite our notable differences I feel a certain kinship and empathy with Ava after reading this, and even welled up at the last paragraph (I DON'T as a rule cry at books!).
February 3, 2009
She is amazing. This has helped me rebuild some healthy narcissism post-breakup, and has given me a fresh perspective on life and the search for happiness. For the past year, since finishing the book, I have been watching all of her films in order with my friend Kate, who also loved the book.
January 13, 2009
Her life was far more facinating than any movie she ever made. I'm sorry that she was never able to have any children.
February 22, 2023
I must admit, prior to reading this biography by Lee Server, that all I really knew about Ava Gardner was how stunningly beautiful she was, her tumultuous marriage to Frank Sinatra and a few of her movies. So this was a fun eye-opening thrill of a read. In many ways she reminded me of me! Wild in her youth, filled with passion and love of drink and the party night life. She could even drink Richard Burton under the table.
She suffered in love, but those wounds were salved by drunken debauchery—the Ritz Hotel in Madrid even banned her from the premises after she urinated in the lobby! And Robert Mitchum, of all people, was afraid of her; as "dangerous" to be around. But she was not just another pretty face for she slowly did learn to act and had some great performances on film. Worth a read and quite enjoyable and at times laugh out loud funny but a bit sad at the end. 3.5 stars.
Will look forward to Server's Mitcham's biography.
She suffered in love, but those wounds were salved by drunken debauchery—the Ritz Hotel in Madrid even banned her from the premises after she urinated in the lobby! And Robert Mitchum, of all people, was afraid of her; as "dangerous" to be around. But she was not just another pretty face for she slowly did learn to act and had some great performances on film. Worth a read and quite enjoyable and at times laugh out loud funny but a bit sad at the end. 3.5 stars.
Will look forward to Server's Mitcham's biography.
May 16, 2025
What a life Ava lived! This was a great overview of her life, her career, and her relationships! Really interested!
October 11, 2017
I first read Lee Server's "Ava Gardner 'Love is Nothing'" in 2006 when it was first published. I didn't know much about the actor's biography and found myself completely riveted by her story. Server's book on Ava Gardner - a sultry raven-haired beauty famous for playing femme fatale film roles such as in The Killers (1946) and The Barefoot Contessa (1954) - is an appreciated improvement upon his earlier Hollywood star biography on Bob Mitchum ("Robert Mitchum: 'Baby, I Don’t Care'") from 2001. Compared to that clunkier effort, "Ava Gardner 'Love is Nothing'" shows how a writer can fall in love with their subject so that her life born in Grabtown, North Carolina in 1922 through to fame in Tinseltown, especially in the late 1940s to early 1950s (and beyond) is carefully conveyed in a cohesive, essentially intimate and ultimately compassionate book. Server's Ava provides spare but telling detail of her career as a top M-G-M movie star as well as a personal life that included many affairs, international forays, and celebrity marriages (to Mickey Rooney, Artie Shaw, and, perhaps most famously, Frank Sinatra). Readers seeking juicy celebrity gossip will find it in this book yet be left with the distinct display of Ava Gardner as the ravishing, almost interchangeably willful and charming beauty who was also, often enough, personally insecure and lonely. The reader's adventures in this book are precisely its glamorous subject's contradictions so that Ava Gardner remains the interesting protagonist throughout in all her strengths and foibles. Hardly the last word on Ava Gardner (Server's book has no footnotes, only 25 single-spaced pages of interviews and sources), "Ava Gardner 'Love is Nothing'" remains a fine and informative entertainment that appears to be fact-based and credibly accurate in its interpretations. Whenever I need an Ava Gardner "fix," I open Server's book not blinking an eye and find myself immersed in a certain episode or story, all sparely and dramatically told by Server, about Ava's spectacular but too short life (she died in 1990 at 67 years old). Recommended.
June 1, 2019
I don't remember my exact problems with Server's Robert Mitchum biography, but I'm glad I gave him a second chance on this book that I've had my eye on for a while, because it's mostly free of any intrusive authorial tics. It does get off to a bit of a rough start—Server leads off with a weak scene that aims for ambiguity and completely misses, frequently adopts a leering tone, and pads a number of paragraphs with needlessly long lists of inconsequential details. But then he settles down fairly quickly, and starts offering details that actually are consequential, and interesting too. Occasionally, Server engages in speculation or aims for overly stylized—and sometimes sensationalized—prose (there's an aggravating trait he has of using commas where there ought to be periods, and nothing at all where there should be commas, in a manner that might work in fiction, if deployed correctly, but not here), there are occasionally whole paragraphs that feel needless and trivial, and a bit of authorial creepiness keeps finding its way in from time to time. But he also shows himself equally capable of inserting humor, sidelong ironic commentary, and plenty of wonderful phrasing (including examples of cleverly paralleling quoted sources).
Server's problem covering Mitchum may have been that he had trouble finding and differentiating the through-lines of Mitchum's life (I'm guessing this based on the fact that none of them have stick with me, if any were in fact identified), whereas Gardner's personal and professional lives have clear inflection points and upward and downward curves, which might make Server's task easier (or at least not highlight his weakness at imposing structure on material with a less-clear function of best fit). Many of his included anecdotes are told at just the right length, and with jut the right details, to mirror the broader strokes of Gardner's life, which is to say that there's a sense of fun throughout, until there isn't anymore. This book, to Server's credit, is fun throughout as well, and never gets to a point when it isn't anymore.
Server's problem covering Mitchum may have been that he had trouble finding and differentiating the through-lines of Mitchum's life (I'm guessing this based on the fact that none of them have stick with me, if any were in fact identified), whereas Gardner's personal and professional lives have clear inflection points and upward and downward curves, which might make Server's task easier (or at least not highlight his weakness at imposing structure on material with a less-clear function of best fit). Many of his included anecdotes are told at just the right length, and with jut the right details, to mirror the broader strokes of Gardner's life, which is to say that there's a sense of fun throughout, until there isn't anymore. This book, to Server's credit, is fun throughout as well, and never gets to a point when it isn't anymore.
October 29, 2019
Well, that was quite the wild romp! Ava Gardner was beautiful, wild, uninhibited, and underneath it all - a shy, barefoot country girl. It was exhausting reading about her, I can't even imagine what it must have been like to be her. Lee Server has truly written the definitive biography of the Hollywood love goddess legend. His book is exhaustively researched and he maintains an adept knowledge of the film industry, film production, Hollywood history, and show biz in general. Like every good biography, you will feel like a fly on the wall for many unforgettable behind the scenes Hollywood moments and let me tell you this guy is quite skilled with the turn of phrase. He seemlessly blends all his copious primary and secondary source research with a distinctive tounge-in-cheek style.
Le sigh, will I ever tire of reading about Mexican quickie divorces, ice-cold champagne, stars storming off to their dressing rooms, Mickey Rooney's sexual prowess, and large airy rooms furnished with gilded mirrors and lacqured credenzas? Ok, one of these items I could likely do without ;)
And though it was torturous at times, I must admit the Gardner-Sinatra love affair was hands-down the best part of this book. Frank Sinatra just makes any story that much better. Aside from having the voice of an angel, is he not the epitome of cool? I don't care how many photographers he had to give the old knuckle sandwich to, they probably WERE chumps Frankie! What a guy! I really think he had a good heart. He may be my next celebrity bio.
In conclusion, let us never forget the book that gave us this gift:
"But the truce was barely a couple of days old when they had one of their biggest fights to date, one that involved a brawl, two love goddesses, police, rumors of sex orgies, and the inappropriate use of a douche bag."
Hats off to you Mr. Server, your work here is done.
Le sigh, will I ever tire of reading about Mexican quickie divorces, ice-cold champagne, stars storming off to their dressing rooms, Mickey Rooney's sexual prowess, and large airy rooms furnished with gilded mirrors and lacqured credenzas? Ok, one of these items I could likely do without ;)
And though it was torturous at times, I must admit the Gardner-Sinatra love affair was hands-down the best part of this book. Frank Sinatra just makes any story that much better. Aside from having the voice of an angel, is he not the epitome of cool? I don't care how many photographers he had to give the old knuckle sandwich to, they probably WERE chumps Frankie! What a guy! I really think he had a good heart. He may be my next celebrity bio.
In conclusion, let us never forget the book that gave us this gift:
"But the truce was barely a couple of days old when they had one of their biggest fights to date, one that involved a brawl, two love goddesses, police, rumors of sex orgies, and the inappropriate use of a douche bag."
Hats off to you Mr. Server, your work here is done.
August 16, 2014
Ava Gardner was a stunning, sultry sexy (and other S words) star from about 1939 to 1970. The book guides us through her journey, her success, her relationships (with many Hollywood notables such as Mickey Rooney and Frank Sinatra). From start to finish almost every interview or opinion on Ava was one if not all three of these following things:
1. She was beautiful
2. She was lovely, down to earth and kind
3. She was not either of those things when drunk
Unfortunately she was a heavy drinker, which many believe was the leading cause of her premature aging, her poor health and failed relationships.
The most powerful part of the book for me was within the final chapters, when the author mentioned a Galla held by MGM in 1974 that hosted famous guests from the Golden era of Film. (Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Gene Kelly, Lana Turner). Aging stars of this time period reflected on their careers, their success and what was. Oh how beautiful they were, how talented and vibrant they appeared on screen! This was very sad to me, as a young person so in love with the Golden age and all its romantic appeal.
This was a great book, a little long; but enjoyable and fascinating. It is because of pieces like this that make people like Ava eternal; in that she is not gone but still vibrant, and young and beautiful. Like she is off somewhere in Spain dancing the flamenco. RIP Contessa; the love Goddess.
1. She was beautiful
2. She was lovely, down to earth and kind
3. She was not either of those things when drunk
Unfortunately she was a heavy drinker, which many believe was the leading cause of her premature aging, her poor health and failed relationships.
The most powerful part of the book for me was within the final chapters, when the author mentioned a Galla held by MGM in 1974 that hosted famous guests from the Golden era of Film. (Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Gene Kelly, Lana Turner). Aging stars of this time period reflected on their careers, their success and what was. Oh how beautiful they were, how talented and vibrant they appeared on screen! This was very sad to me, as a young person so in love with the Golden age and all its romantic appeal.
This was a great book, a little long; but enjoyable and fascinating. It is because of pieces like this that make people like Ava eternal; in that she is not gone but still vibrant, and young and beautiful. Like she is off somewhere in Spain dancing the flamenco. RIP Contessa; the love Goddess.
November 28, 2020
This review comes with mixed feelings. This book is a master class in how to research. Overall, an amazing book. Great descriptive details, making the flow of scenes smooth and refreshing. Server's prose is outstanding.
The "mixed feelings" stem from his creative use of quotations. I'm an advocate for creative nonfiction, but a quote is a quote...not what the author *thinks* was said. There are techniques for that, and they work well. Server even employs them at certain points, which is partly why it annoyed me that there were several "quotes" that were clearly not actual quotations. A minor grievance, to be sure, but a distraction from the overall greatness nonetheless. Server also never missed a chance to remind the reader of Ava's beauty. If he goes five pages without mentioning her goddess-like appearance, rest assured that the sixth page will be nothing but.
A great read with tremendous detail about a complicated, yet simple (and yes, Lee, beautiful), woman. Highly recommended if you like creative nonfiction and Hollywood history. And, an awesome example of how to research and write.
The "mixed feelings" stem from his creative use of quotations. I'm an advocate for creative nonfiction, but a quote is a quote...not what the author *thinks* was said. There are techniques for that, and they work well. Server even employs them at certain points, which is partly why it annoyed me that there were several "quotes" that were clearly not actual quotations. A minor grievance, to be sure, but a distraction from the overall greatness nonetheless. Server also never missed a chance to remind the reader of Ava's beauty. If he goes five pages without mentioning her goddess-like appearance, rest assured that the sixth page will be nothing but.
A great read with tremendous detail about a complicated, yet simple (and yes, Lee, beautiful), woman. Highly recommended if you like creative nonfiction and Hollywood history. And, an awesome example of how to research and write.
July 26, 2019
Been there, done that! Which is what you can say about Ava Gardener x 10000000! From shy reticent country gal picked for her heart stopping beauty to larger than life Hollywood legend with an unbridled appetite for life, love, booze, sex, adventure to rival and outdo those of any of her male co-stars and countless lovers, Ava Gardner was a force of nature and it is a miracle that she made it to 67 in the fast lane in which she lived her crazy life. She never lost that shyness and she never felt the confidence that would have allowed her not to resort to acts of unimaginable recklessness which became her reality and her coping mechanism and her way of overcompensating through displays of hard and fast and reckless living, pushing everything and everyone but foremost herself to extremes and finally to a heady end. An amazing glimpse into a precipice and now to watch her in action! Cue: Ava Gardner, the screen legend. A great summer read.
April 24, 2020
Interesting, but too long. It seemed to be the same story over and over. A beautiful woman who traded on her looks but became a drunken nymphomaniac. What a miserable life! She made her own choices and was responsible for her own life. Her husbands and lovers were just as shallow and hedonistic as she was. I’m surprised she lived as long as she did.
I personally never saw the great beauty in Ava Gardner other people did. I just watched On The Beach last week and she really looked rough around the edges. She really was trash.
I personally never saw the great beauty in Ava Gardner other people did. I just watched On The Beach last week and she really looked rough around the edges. She really was trash.
March 25, 2021
Ava Gardner, a tragic beauty whose wild love life rivals that of any film you’ll ever see.
This biography starts off comprehensive, but towards the end, eases on all the myriad details and simply narrates the hectic life of one of the last great actresses of the golden age.
I never knew much about Ava Gardner besides a couple movies I’d seen her in, and the fact that she was one of the most beautiful women in Hollywood, until I picked up this book.
I really enjoyed it, and recommend it anyone who likes reading biographies about colorful, exciting people. Ava was definitely one of them.
This biography starts off comprehensive, but towards the end, eases on all the myriad details and simply narrates the hectic life of one of the last great actresses of the golden age.
I never knew much about Ava Gardner besides a couple movies I’d seen her in, and the fact that she was one of the most beautiful women in Hollywood, until I picked up this book.
I really enjoyed it, and recommend it anyone who likes reading biographies about colorful, exciting people. Ava was definitely one of them.
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